Collapsible stock for firearms



Feb. 22, 1949. J. c: GARAND 2,462,091

COLLAPSIBLE STOCK FOR FIREARMS Filed June 5, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jul-Ln [3,. EltLTtLnd %7 MMM:ZW4M y l/ 1 Feb. 2 1949' J. c. GARAND I 2,462,691

COLLAPSIBLE STOCK FOR FIREARMS Filed June 3, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 KN) l 3 l n wk Se v a? Q l LU John E. Gtrrund *Q I w w Mwi a Patented Feb. 22, 1949 COLLAPSIBLE STOCKLFOR FIREARMS John- C. .Garand, Springfield; Mass, assignor to the United.States of. Americaas represented by the. Secretary of War Application June 3, 1946," Serial No. 674,005

(Granted; under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 3 Claims.

- ofstockis essential for the accurate firing of such firearms, yetthe conventional. stock does not meetthe necessary limited weight and space requirements. To this end, there have. been developed some rifle and gun constructions having soacalled collapsible or folding. stocks. However, the constructions heretofore known have not been sufficiently. rigid. when locked in the extended position to withstand constant use of the firearm. Such requirement is especially'viial in thecase where grenades are to be fired f-romsuch firearms asf arev provided'with folding stocks. Exceptionany flargerecoil. forces are encountered in. discharging. grenades from conventional firearms and .such.forces tend. to exert considerable stress and strain. on the foldingstock and particularly atthe junction point of the firearm and folding stock.

,"Moreoveritis an added requirement that fold.- ing stocks. be firmly and. positively locked in the firing position yet be. quickly andv easily changed to either the firingor the collapsed position. The locki'ngmeans should also be simple .in operation andlr'eadily accessible to the operator of. the fire arm.

Furthermore in launching grenades from firearms, it is particularly desirable. to employ a special sight for obtaining the necessary'accuracy. One form of such, sightv consists of pivotally mounting a sighting bar on a circular base, such base being fixedly secured to the stock of the firearm. ;"'It-.-can. readilybeseen t at known collapsiblestocks for a firearm would prevent the use of the. sight. here mentioned. However, one of the improvementsof this invention overprior art resides-in. the. fact that. the collapsible stock is so designed. that it may carry a circular mounting base for .a grenade sight.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide improved locking means for a. collapsible stock.

.A further object. of this inventionis toprovide nieansfor mounting a circular base for agrenade sight to such firearm. as. is provided with a collapsible stock whereby a sight mounted onv such base does not interfere with the proper stowing of the stock in a folded position.

A particular object of this invention is to provide locking means for a collapsible stock which will present a rigid and shock-resisting construction when such stock is in the firing position, especially where excessive recoil forces are encountered, as in the launching of grenades.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanyin drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side-e1evational view of the collapsible stock assembled to a firearm and shown in the extended position;

Fig. 2 is a side-elevational view of a portion of Fig. 1 showing the opposite side of the ferrule construction;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of the collapsible stock in the folded position;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing how the ferrule fits on the stock forearm;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the collapsible stock member;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the locking mechanism for the collapsible stock shown partly in cross section;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines- Fig. 8 is a plan View of the latch member of the invention.

In Fig. 1 a collapsible metal stock 2 is shown in assembled relation to a wooden forearm 3 commonly associated with a firearm of the type known as U. S. rifle, cal. .30, M1. Forearm 3 is of conventional construction and is provided with openings toward the rear for accommodating a receiver 4 and a trigger guard 5 indicated in Fig. 1 by dot-dash lines. Arcuate cuts ii are provided near the front end of forearm 3 for receiving portions of collapsible stock 2 when such is in a folded position as shown in Fig. 3.

metal sleeve member or ferrule l is fitted to the rear end of forearm. 3 and provides mounting facilities-for folding stock 2. Ferrule i is substantially U-shaped and channeled so as to conform to the outer periphery of forearm 3 and fits snugly thereon when assembled. The top of ferrule l is bent inwardly as shown at 3 in Fig. 4 to provide a flat surface against which receiver 3 abuts when assembled to the firearm. The bottom ofierrule l is bent: inwardly and upwardly as shown. at 9 inFig. 4 toassure therequired snug fit thereof to forearm 3. A conventional pistol grip l extends downwardly from the forearmfitting portion of ferrule I and may be removably attached or integral therewith. On each side of ferrule I there is provided a longitudinal slot Ii. An arcuate slot I2 is provided on the right side as shown in Fig. 1 for a purpose to be explained.

The collapsible stock 2 includes an upper support member I3 and two lower supporting arms 14 and I4. Carried between member l3 and arms l4 and,|4' is a butt plate I5 preferably perforated as shown at it in Fig, 5 and shaped to accommodate the shoulder of the user of the firearm. Upper support member 53 is preferably a U-shaped rod passing through the inwardly turned sides of butt plate l5 and extending forwardly thereafter to form parallel arms ll. The lower supporting arms M and I l consist of a pair of parallel spaced-apart flat bars riveted to butt plate is at [8 and capable of pivoting movement thereon. Oppositely opposed detents l9 are provided on the inner surface of each arm I! for a purpose to be shown.

The forward ends of arms ll are flattened out and apertured to receive a bolt 2| therethrough so that upper support member l3 can be pivotally mounted to ferrule 1. Lower supporting arms 14 and I l terminate in end sections 22 curving upwardly and rearwardly so as to form projections in the shape of hooks 23. Such hooks 23 are for camming purposes as will later be shown. End sections 22 are apertured to receive screws 25 by means of which arms I4 and M are also pivotally mounted to-ferrule l. Screws 25 are provided with a stepped-down head and shoulder 26 whereby such screws protrude sufficiently from the sides of ferrule I to insure nonbinding and free-pivotal movement of arms I4 and H3. Suitable slots are provided on the interior faces of the receiver opening of forearm 3 to receive rectangular nuts 21 and 21' which act to provide bearing surfaces for tightening ferrule I to forearm 3. Nut 2? is also provided with a tongue 28 which acts in a manner to be described. Arm I4 is provided with an extension 29 at the end of which a graduated grenade sight mounting base 38 is riveted or otherwise attached.

A rotatable latch member 38 illustrated in Fig. 8 for locking collapsible stock 2 in an extended position consists of a body 32 and a lever arm 33 extending at right angles therefrom. Lever arm 33 is provided with 2. lug 34 adapted to engage arcuate slot 12 so as to limit the movement of latch 3! in either direction. Camming cuts 35 are provided in opposite ends of body 32 to cooperate with hooks 23 as will be exp'ained. A circumferential groove 35 is provided in body 32 near the lever-arm end thereof for engagement with the aforementioned tongue 28 to prevent any lateral movement of latch 3 I. A lightening cut 31 is preferably also provided in body 32 for reducing the weight of latch member 3|.

A helical torsion spring 38 is wound about body 32 and a free end thereof is inserted in a longitudinal locating groove 39 in body 32 while the other free end extends sufficiently to abut bolt 2| as shown in Fig. 6. Spring 38 is slightly preloaded and acts to maintain lever arm 33 at the end of arcuate slot 12 farthest from the rear of ferrule 1.

To collapse stock 2 from the extended position shown in Fig. l, lever arm 33 is retracted sufficiently to disengage from beneath hooks 23. Latch 3| will, of course, return to its original position under the bias of latch spring 38. Then by pivoting stock 2 downwardly and forwardly until stopped by forearm 3, it will assume the collapsed position shown in Fig. 3 with the lower edges of butt plate 15 entering arcuate cuts 6 on the underside of forearm 3. At the same time detents IE will engage longitudinal slots H whereby collapsible stock 2 will be prevented from accidental displacement from the folded position due to jarring.

To open collapsible stock 2 from the folded position to the fully extended position shown in Fig. 1, such stock is first pulled away from the forearm 3 so that detents l9 disengage from slots H in ferrule 1. Then stock 2 is pivoted in a reverse manner to that necessary for collapsing. Hooks 23 will enter camming cuts 35 and strike -lever arm 33 and cam such rearwardly. The

upward pivoting movement of collapsible stock 2 will be terminated by arms I4 and I4 abutting upper parallel arms I1. As a result, hooks 23 clear camming cuts 35 and since latch 3| is rotated to its original position under the urging of latch spring 38, a portion of lever arm 33 will engage beneath hooks 23 to positively lock c01- lapsible stock 2 in an extended or firing position. The contact of arms l4 and M'against forward ends 20 of arms I! provides extra rigidity of the collapsible stock in its extended or firing position.

Moreover, stock 2 when locked in an extended position has ample rigidity and strength to withstand the extra strain and stress encountered as a result of the forces developed ,by launching grenades from the firearm.

A fixed sight base 30 may be secured to the forward end of arm 44' by any suitable means for mounting a grenade-launching sight (not shown) thereon; Such base does not interfere V with collapsing the stock.

I claim:

1. In a firearm having a. collapsible stock constructed to be locked in an extended position and a wooden forearm, a metallic ferrule rigidly secured to the rear end of the forearm by a. bolt and screws extendin transversely therethrough, one of said screws threaded into a locking nut having a projecting tongue thereon, a rotatable latch transversely disposed in said ferrule and the forearm, said latch having a circumferential groove for engagement with said tongue to'prevent lateral displacement of said latch, a spring surrounding said latch and having one free end thereof disposed within a longitudinalslot in said latch and the other free end abutting said bolt, a cam ear on each end of said latch providing means for mechanically locking the stock when the stock is moved into the extended position and a lever-like member on one end of said latch above said cam ear for manually unlocking the stock therefrom.

2. In a firearm having a wooden forearm and a collapsible shoulder stock having a pair of long and short parallel arms straddling the forearm and pivotally mounted thereto, means pivotally interconnecting the outer portions of said long and short arms, said mounting providing for movement of the stock from a collapsed to an extended position, a metallic ferrule rigidly secured to the rear end of the forearm, said ferrule having a slot on each side thereof, a detent on the inner face of each short parallel arm adapted to engage said slot when the stock is swung to the collapsed position, a rotatable latch inserted through said ferrule and the forearm, and means arranged whereby the stock in the collapsed position is prevented from accidental displacement and whereby the stock in the extended position is positively locked.

3. In a firearm having a forearm and a collapsible shoulder stock including a pair of long and short parallel arms straddling the forearm and pivotally mounted thereto providing movement of the stock from a collapsed to an extended position and coacting means on each short parallel arm and the forearm to releasably retain the stock in the collapsed position, a hook-like camming projection on the pivoted end of each long parallel arm, a ferrule secured to the rear end of the forearm, said ferrule having an armate slot disposed on one side thereof, a rotatable latch transversely mounted in said ferrule, said latch being provided with a cam ear on each end thereof, a lever-like member on one end of said latch above one of said ears, an inwardly facing lug on said lever adapted to engage said arcuate slot, and resilient. means biasing said latch forwardly, all adapted and arranged whereby said hook-like camming projections are cammed past' said ears rotating said latch rearwardl-y when the collapsible stock is swung from the collapsed to the extended portion and whereby said latch returns to the original position under the bias of said resilient means rotating said ears beneath said hook-like camming projections to positively lock the collapsible stock in an extended position relative to the forearm.

JOHN C. GARAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 724,327 Phillips Mar. 31, 1903 2,293,128 Fortin Aug. 18, 1942 2,400,349 Haberstump May 14, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 63,093 Germany Aug. 9, 1891 

